Spam continues to drive users to distraction

NEWS October saw an increase in the amount of unsolicited email being sent worldwide, as measured by anti-spam firm Brightmail. Brightmail intercepted more than 5.35 million spam emails during October, up from 5.28 million during September. In terms of what the emails contain the pattern is both predictable and consistent with previous months' findings. Financial services are the top irritant in users' inboxes, accounting for 36 per cent of spam - with offers of everything from low interest loans and mortgages to credit cards and stock market tip offs. General product promotion is the second most common, accounting for 31 per cent of all unsolicited email. The perennial problem of porn comes third, with adult content common in 12 per cent of all spam emails. This category includes everything from the promotion of pornographic websites to the sale of sex toys. Scams also show little sign of abating, with four per cent of intercepted spam offering their intended recipients get-rich-quick schemes, which range from the notorious Nigerian money scam to a preposterous email offering the gullible a share of Bill Gates' money. Find out more about spam:
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